Have you answered the knocking?

I'm not just talking about painting. Photography to crochet. Dancing to quilting. Art is not just fine art, it ain't just traditional painting. Art is personal to the individual. It shouldn't be defined by government. Ask 10 people what they think art is and you will get 10 completely different answers. For me art is creativity. Creativity in all its glorious colours, shapes and sizes. The way I choose to express this creativity varies on almost a daily basis - I am constantly changing and whilst I have not always embraced my artistic side I now hope do so with all my might for as long as I can - because it brings things out in me I barely recognise, it lifts my mood and it makes me a better person to be around (or perhaps worse - when I focus on something it is unfortunately to the detriment of everything else!).

I believe that we've probably all got at least a little creative potential somewhere within us. But it's hardly surprising given our hectic modern day lifestyles that the gentle pitter-patter of our artistic voice gets drowned out. Even us Etsians can get bogged down in the technical side of things what with; work, study, children, parents, Etsy, blogs, websites, facebook, tumblr, twitter, pinterest, reddit, dig, likes, favourites, shares, treasuries, comments, SEO (don't even get me started) etc, etc, etc the list goes on and on. It shouldn't come as a shock to anyone that all of these things that we 'absolutely have to do' can and will make us lose focus and distract us from doing what it is that we love to do - that is primarily - to create.

So use this as a reminder, if you need one, to make more effort to listen the wisdom of your inner artist. Ask yourself: What does it need? How can I feed it? How can I bring it more into my life? 

I have answered these questions myself and come to the conclusion that I really have no idea what I have or what I want to say to the world. I gave up on writing a long time ago and I'm too much of a perfectionist for painting. Abstract and modern art appeal to me but it is the world of words that I have always revelled in. Reading and putting words on a piece of paper (or computer screen) are two things I am forever telling myself to do - but never quite get around to actually doing (like many of us I'm sure). So I bought a book to encourage me, I've had my eye on it for a while - it's called 'The Artists Way' by Julia Cameron and you can find here at Amazon. She mainly teaches two ways of encouraging your creativity - morning pages (I first thought it meant reading the newspaper) and artistic dates with yourself, both of which I will discuss more when the book arrives and I've read it. But you can find lot's of info about it here, here, here, here and here!

P.S. By the way you might be interested in my other blog which focuses on creativity, productivity and personal development.

P.P.S. The quote used in my photograph is from Terri Guillements - I'll admit I had no clue who that was till I Googled it. Turn's out she's the brains behind the Quote Garden which I've been using for inspiration for years!